30 Day Zelda Challenge: Day 2 - My favorite character

Well I am sure that anybody who knows me could answer this question, Link is my favorite character BY FAR! I have been a fan of Link from even way back in the SNES and NES days, but it goes way beyond fandom for me, I have had the biggest crush on Link ever since Ocarina of Time. So for this blog entry I shall be writing not only about Link but my top 5 Links.

#5. LttP Link: a Link to the Past was the very first Zelda game that I ever played so it is understandable that LttP Link would be among my favorites. I was 7 year old when the SNES came out and pretty much the only games I had played up to that point were some Mario games and a bunch of other 3rd party games that I don't even recall at this point, but all that changed when I received a box with a shield and sword on it with the words "The Legend of Zelda" printed on it. From the second I put that cartridge into my SNES, I was hooked! The graphics (back then) were awesome, the weapons inventive and the story was UH-maze-ing! At the age of seven I was wisked to the land of Hyrule where an evil wizard was kidnapping fair maidens and had imprisoned the beautiful Princess Zelda and I, as Link, was the only hope left for this land in peril. God I love that game and how can I not love LttP Link when he turns into a bunny? :3

#4. Wind Waker Link: I wasn't on the Wind Waker band wagon when it first came out, but once I really gave it a chance I was in awe of the true beauty of this game and grew to really adore and respect WW Link. We all know the story, WW Link must rescue his little sister from the Helmrock King and sets off with a band of pirates to do so. That in itself earned my respect of WW Link, he was only a child (I believe him to be about 12) and he risked his life to save his sister. After rescuing his sister, WW Link could have just walked away but he instead committted himself to defeating Ganondorf and became the Hero of Winds. Not to mention, I found WW Link to be hilarious!

#3/#2: Oni Link/Shadow Link: I lumped these two together because I love them for the same reason....they are the sexy, bad boy version of Link! >:] It's no secret that I have a huge crush on Link and it is also no secret that girls have a soft-spot for bad boys. That's it really

#1. OoT Link: I love adult OoT Link....I have for half my life. OoT Link is what I picture when I think of a hero, a selfless man who sacrifices his all to save a land in peril. OoT Link is the bearer of the Triforce of Courge, the hero chosen by the Master Sword and the Hero of Time and he deserves these titles. Why is Link deserving of these titles, he was the man who pretty much single handedly obtained the 3 Sacred jewels, awakened the Sages and defeated the King of Evil and he did all these good deeds because it was his destiny. When a lesser man would have walked away or even served Ganondorf, OoT Link stood up and "said" no! That strength and unwavering determination to not only say no to evil but to also stand up to it and try to make the world a better place is the biggest reason I have been attracted to OoT Link....well, that and he is pretty easy on the eyes. ;) OoT Link was loyal to his friends, defended the weak and stood up for what was right in the land of Hyrule and that is why he was, is and will forever be MY perfect definition of a hero.

30 Day Zelda Challenge: Day 1- Your favorite Legend of Zelda game

My favorite Legend of Zelda game is not my first Zelda game, but it is the first game that I became obsessive about. From the second that piano started playing the intro music and I saw a man clad in green riding his horse across Hyrule field, I was already in love with this game. Ocarina of Time was, is and will forever be not only my favorite Zelda game, but also my favorite game period.

I was 13 years old when Ocarina of Time came out and sadly my brother and I did not have a Nintendo 64 but hope was not lost because my grandmother HAD a N64 and more importantly, Ocarina of Time. From the very moment that she turned her N64 on and I saw the scene that I just mentioned above, I knew that I had to make this game mine. I spent many a nights over at my grandma's house solely for the purpose of playing this game and all those sleep overs resulted in me beating the game before I had possession of it.

I didn't actually own Ocarina of Time until the following Christmas and I spent my entire Christmas vacation collecting the three spiritual stones, awakening the Sages and kicking Ganondorf's ass. I loved this game, everything about it was perfect to me...with the exception of one annoying companion, haha. How could I NOT love this game? After beating it again for the second time, I still had a week of winter vacation left and I then went on to beat the game again. My family didn't see or hear from for pretty much all of Christmas break. My love of this game goes so far that I have since beaten the game at least once a year and pretty much have the entire game memorized. I have in depth conversations with people about this game and it is my mission to get every fledgling Nintendo nerd to play this game, at least once.

My most vivid memory of Ocarina of Time is that moment when you see adult Link for the first time, I saw that grown hero and my 13 year old heart fell in love. I have had an incredibly huge crush on Link ever since and have compared many a man to my Hero of Time. My favorite fight of Ocarina of Time is the Twinrova battle, I remember getting so pissed off because Kotake and Koume would use their magic to freeze and burn me and I would have to start all over powering up my Mirror shield. I was so proud of myself for kicking those two witches asses and then confused because I never REALLY understood why they had halos and went to heaven, haha??

Like a friend of mine who is doing this challenge with me, Ocarina of Time's ending made me cry, it was a bitter-sweet moment when Zelda sent our hero back to his original time. I had never cried at the end of a video game before and I realize now it's because I felt a connection with the characters and I felt like I was the hero running all over Hyrule trying to save the day. It's a little embarrassing to say this but I actually believe that my love of the Zelda series has had a role in instilling the strong sense of justice and doing what's right in me today.

So to try and make this already long post short, Ocarina of Time is my favorite game because it is so much more than a game to me, it's a beautiful told story of good overcoming evil, it's a world full of characters that you come to love and most of all to me, it's the perfect escape to land where you can be the hero that makes a difference.

Defender of Hyrule out...

30 Day Zelda Challenge: Day 3- Favorite Villain

***Warning: There are spoilers in this blog post***

The Defender of Hyrule's Top 5 Zelda Villains:




#5 BellumBeck: I know that choosing Linebeck as one of my favorite villains is a little strange, but let me explain myself. I chose this boss because Linebeck had been a selfish, rupee-grubbing coward throughout most of Phantom Hourglass and when Bellum had Link and Tetra in his clutches on the verge finishing them off, Linebeck actually picked up the sword to face Bellum and save his friend! It's weird to say but, I felt like a sense of pride in Linebeck for standing up to Bellum and trying to protect his friends. Through the adventures and new found friendship Linebeck had with Link, he found the courage to put something and someone before himself and that's the magic of Zelda games, they make you care and root for the characters involved.




#4 Byrne: For those of you who are asking "Who the hell is Byrne??" he was a villain in Spirit Tracks who betrayed his Master, Anjean, in an attempt to gain more power by serving the Demon King, Malladus. Byrne had been a servant of The Spirits for over a century under the instruction of Anjean, but his intentions were not pure since Byrne's only true master was the thirst for power. In the Spirit Tracks' story, Byrne almost seems to be going down the same path Ganondorf did in other Zelda games, but after a confrontation with Link and Zelda where they could've finished him off, they let him live instead and I believe the kindness that was shown toward him by Link, Zelda and even Anjean, was what changed Byrne's heart. At the end of Spirit Tracks, Byrne sacrifices his life to save Link and Zelda. Later after the final match with Malladus, we are told by Anjean that Byrne is not dead, she then uses her powers and Byrne's spirit appears in the form of a glowing, black orb. Byrne was a power-hungry, Ganon-esque character that had a change of heart and actually became a hero because of an act of kindness and a show of true courage from Link and Zelda.





#3 Zant: One word can sum up Zant, CRAZY! Zant was a Twili bent on the domination of the Twilight Realm and that hatred and lust for power is what drew Ganondorf to him and ultimately made him loose his mind. I almost pitied Zant because really he was just a puppet of Ganondorf's but how can you have pity for someone that was ultimately evil to the core and was just not powerful enough to meet his own goals. Zant was a sniveling coward who couldn't handle the fact that he was not the next in line to rule the Twili and because of that he basically sold his soul to Ganondorf. While Ganondorf will always be Link's nemesis, Zant was a good villain in Twilight Princess because he was pretty much complete opposite of Link, selfish, weak, spiteful and cowardly. I do have to say that one thing that I did like Zant was his eccentric personality and actions, him jumping around like a homicidal Daffy Duck use to crack me up, haha.





#2 Vaati: There is a real trend amongst the villains thirsting of power in the Zelda universe and Vaati is no exception to this trend. Ultimately the biggest reason I like Vaati is because I thought the final fight with him was fun. Utilizing the Four Sword and using Ezlo to shirnk down to Minish size was a little bit of a challenge and added a twist to the final boss fight in the Minish Cap.





#1 Ganondorf - The King of Evil: I know it's a little cliche to pick Ganondorf as my number Zelda villain, but I can't help it; where I see Link as the perfect hero, I see Ganondorf as the perfect villain. Ganondorf is strong, imposing, relentless, intelligent and an all around bad ass. I know people say they are sick of Link vs Ganondorf, but I can't get enough of it! Having a new villain here and there keeps the series fresh but nobody can hand out a "can of whoop-ass" to Link like Ganondorf. Ganondorf's story is an interesting and well thought out plot and we get to find out more of his early life supposedly in Skyward Sword. Ganondorf battles are always epic and deeply satisfying once you have defeated him. For all those reasons and more, Ganondorf is the ultimate bad guy that I love to hate!